The Furball

Stung

It was early afternoon in Tahrongi when I arrived, having traveled north from Sarutabaruta and into the Kolshushu region. The whole canyon was covered in a thick carpet of dark clouds, and I kind of missed feeling the gentle touch of the warm sun. It isn’t raining at least, I said to myself. There was an eerie silence lingering throughout the area, and I felt kind of lonely to be honest. Sure, I had my linkshell to keep my company, but I’d much rather have someone accompany on my adventures in Tahrongi.

I walked over to a ledge, scouting the area to make sure I wouldn’t run into a grumpy goblin. Just below me there was a few bees flying busily from plant to plant, collecting nectar to make the most delicious honey. A few feet away was a lonely mandragora, walking around in an frivolous manner. I sighed, thinking how much I’d want to hug it. Mandragoras are just so cute, and it is sometimes hard to resist the temptation to just pick them up and carry them around. I have no doubt in my mind that they would make an effort to slap you senseless before you even knew what hit you.

I carefully unsheathed my katana, sneaking up on a lone bee. Once again I looked around me, making sure I wasn’t followed by any beasts. The coast was clear, so I took a deep breath while raising my katana. Hyaa~, I called out as I slashed through the bee, dealing a considerable amount of damage. The bee, startled by the surprise attack, took off into the air. I took a step forward and thrust my katana forward, hoping to pierce the bee’s hard cover, but missed completely. The bee took a turn and came directly toward me, raising it’s sting and thereby preparing to injure me.

I narrowly escaped it’s sharp sting, hitting it with all my might to push it away from me. A Critical Hit! The bee took another turn, flying around me instead of away from me this time. With three steps backwards, I was able to distance myself from it enough to anticipate it’s next attack. The bee flew towards me, preparing a final sting. I clutched my hands around the grip on my katana, took a step slightly to the left while I rotated my body to increase the power and speed of my attack, cutting right through the bee. The bee dropped to the ground, flapping it’s insect wings a last time before it passed into the next world.

When the Goblin Attacks

I looked around carefully, making sure I wouldn’t be spotted by a nearby group of Yagudos. I had been caught by surprise by a Scribe and an Initiate earlier in the evening, and I was sure the others would be looking for them by now. A group of feather~faces wouldn’t normally be much of a hassle, but things could easily get ugly in my current state.

I groaned in pain as I cleaned a wound on my arm, pouring some distilled water mixed with some herbs over it afterwards to cool it down. Stained blood was covering the whole sleeve, and I was a bit sad that since it was one of my favorite shirts too. I’m sure my Moogle could clean it, but right now I was more worried about my own well-being than the shirt. I carefully looked through my pouch, hoping I had a flask of antidote left. Guess I should stock up soon. Only two left, I said to myself while I unscrewed the cork on the antidote and drank it. I also applied some pressure to my arm using some linen I had tucked away in my satchel.

It was early morning by now, and the first few birds had started chirping. Apart from a few clouds lingering on the horizon in the north-west, just over Tahrongi Canyon, the sky was pretty much clear. I enjoyed the clear morning air, full of moisture from the Pamtam Straits.

The pain slowly faded away, and I was relieved that the antidote I took was able to cure the poison. I got up on my feet and started to sneak behind a nearby tree. A goblin was patrolling the path, mumbling something to itself. Their high pitched voices make it hard not to laugh when you hear them, but I suppose that’s rather rude. I somehow feel very sorry for the mandragoras when I hear their squeal as they fall to the ground unconscious.

Stop!
I turned around, surprised by the sudden call. A goblin had snuck up on me from behind, and was charging toward me. I unsheathed my katana and prepared to battle. My arm was feeling a little better, but I wasn’t completely rested still. But a beast couldn’t care less about such details. It thrust it’s rusty dagger toward me with a grin on it’s face. Or, I thought it saw a grin through it’s mask.

Oh, no you don’t, I said, parrying the goblin’s attack with my katana, at the same time pushing him away with my foot. I took a step forward, before I launched a powerful attack toward it’s side. The goblin screamed in pain as I struck it. It quickly stepped to the side, trying to sneak in an attack from below, but I could easily anticipate the attack.

I made another powerful swing with my katana, but missed the evading goblin completely. It laughed cheerfully through it’s mask, celebrating my miss. Oh, keep quiet you, I hissed at it. You can not attack me. Finally, the Goblin victory, it said again in their usual quirky way.

The goblin suddenly took three steps backwards, picked up a goblin bomb and tossed it toward me before ducking to cover itself. I meowed in panic as I tried to jump away from the bomb. I barely missed the blast, but I could feel burnt hair from my tail. I hissed at the goblin again, but instead of charging at him, I stood completely still. I closed my eyes and concentrated.

Trick? I’ll go and attack the cat, the goblin said before charging toward me. I slowly raised my katana, waiting for the right moment. Now, I told myself. I just knew when to launch my attack. I struck the goblin twice in fast succession, using an attack I recently learned. Tachi: Enpi, although not very advanced, still does a fair bit of damage. Strong cat. I have no chance, the goblin groaned, falling toward the ground.